Store shelf and ladder construction



Nov. 11 1924. 1515,420

B. K. TRAYLOR STORE SHELF AND LADDER CONSTRUCTION Filed June 19,1925 2 Shoots-Sheet. 1

R D I 3 mm KZZzy/vr Nov. 11 1924- B. K. TRAYLOR STORE SHELF AND LADDER CONSTRUCTION Filed June 19, 1923 2 Shanta-Sheet 2 awuankoz out of the reach of Patented Nov. ll, 1924.

warren BENJAMIN K. TRAYLOR, OF EL CAMEO, TEXAS.

STORE SHELF AND LADDER CONSTR'UCTION.

Application filed June 19, 1923. Serial No. 646,-380.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it'known that I, BENJAMIN K. TRAY- -LOR,a-CltlZeI1-0f the United States, residing at El Campo, in the county of Wharton and State of Texas,have invented new and use ful Improvements in Store Shelf and Ladder Gonstructions, of which the following is a specification.

must be had to said high shelving for the purpose of takingdown articles or for replenishing the shelving, to provide a ladder for serving saidshelving, and many establishments are now equipped with devices of this nature which are permanently mounted -'to slide laterally in front ofthe shelving so that they may be moved to any desired posi- "tion.

My invention concer-ns itself with the provision of an adjustable shelf fora ladder of this type so=arranged that a person can place a large quantity-ofgoods, for instance acase of articles, upon the adjustable shelf at one -time, then elevate said shelf to a convenient height to be reached from the ladder, and finally climb the ladder to'transfer the article from the adjustable shelf to the store shelving.

One of'the objects of the present invention is to so construct an adjustable shelf that it can be elevated or lowered by a person While the latter stands upon, or climbs the ladder.

Another object relates to a construction by means of which the adjustable shelf is latched in the desired position of elevation by the simple act of letting go of it, and is released from latched condition by the same grasping movement of the one hand by which it is elevated or lowered.

Still another object of the invention is to provide the shelf with adjusting means for setting it levelto compensate for the inclination of the ladder, the said means being movable through a sufficient range to permit the shelf to be used either on the right or left hand side of the ladder.

A further object of the invention is to pro- Vide an adjustable shelf having the characwithout friction across the floor.

teristics above set forth, andadapted to be attached to any shelf-service or otherladder now in use.

l/Vith the above and other objects in view, my invention consists in the improvedstore shelf and ladder construction illustrated in the accompanying drawings, described in the following specification, and particularly claimed, and in such variations and modifications 'thereofas will be obvious to those skilled in the art to which my invention .relates.

In the drawings .accompanying and forming a part of this specification, and wherein the preferred embodiment of my invention -is illustrated:

Figures land 2 are respectivelyfront and side elevations of a shelf-service ladder having my improved adjustable shelf thereto attached.

Figures 3 and dare respectively front and side elevations of the sliding truck which forms the support for the adjustable shelf.

Figure 5 is a cross sectiontakenalongthe line 55 .of Figure 3, showing details of construction.

Figure 6 is asimilar view of a slightly modified form of my invention in'whichthe sliding truckgrasps a separable rack bar-in stead of the side of the ladder.

Figure 7 is a perspective view ofa portion of the separable rack bar.

Figure 8 is a view of the elements, in separated relation, comprising the shelfparts, the shelf itself being omitted.

Figures 9 and 10 illustrate respectively, front and side elevational views of a fixed shelf supported near the base of the ladder.

Referring now in detail to-the several figures, the numeral 1 represents in general a ladder comprising side members 2 and 3 which are provided at their lower ends with rollers 5 on which the ladder may move At their upper ends the side members 2 and 3 are furnished with grooved wheels 6 which engage a track-bar 7, the latter being secured in any appropriate manner, as shown at 8 in Figure 1 across the front of a stack of shelving 9. As is usual in ladders,'the lower end of the ladder is positioned farther from the presently to be described. These detents may be of any desired form or character, being here figuratively shown as depressions in the surface of one of said side members. A truck 11 is slidably arranged with respect to that side member of the ladder which has the ratchet engaging depressions 10, said truck supporting the adjustable shelf 12.

The truck 11, in its preferred form, consists of a frame portion which may be made of sheet metal formed with longitudinal flanges 13 having inturned edges 14, constituting channels which are adapted to embrace the side members of the ladder or another member which may be attached to said side member, as will presently appear when a slight modification of the invention is described. The frame of the sliding truck is formed with a plurality of spaced lugs 15 affording bearings for the spindles of antifriction rollers 16. In the embodiment of the invention shown in the present drawings the lugs are formed from integral spaced portions struck up from the sheet metal blank of the truck, leaving apertures 17 in said frame between said lugs through which the rollers 16 extend to bear against the surface of the side member of the ladder.

The fitting 18, which is best shown in Figure 8 comprises a downwardly extending portion adapted to be adjustably secured to the truck 11 and a flange 19 extending right angularly thereto to which one end of theshelf 12 is attached. To a portion of said shelf remote from said end, the fitting 20 is secured, said fitting being here shown in the form of a. flat bar having apertures therethrough to receive the securing means. The truck 11 is provided with a projecting end 21, affording an attaching means for the fitting 18, said end and said fitting-being alignedly apertured as at 22 and 23 for the reception of a rivet 24: or other suit-able pivotal securing means. Said end and the fitting 18 are provided, respectively, with a plurality of apertures 26 and 25, one or more of the apertures 25 being adapted to be se lectively brought into registry with one or more of the apertures 26 by tilting the fitting 18 relatively to the truck. Nhen any of said apertures have been brought into registry the fitting 18 may be maintained in the angular position assumed, relative to the truck, by means of the bolt 27 or other suitable means. It is apparent that the truck will always have the same degree of inclination as the side member of the ladder with which it is associated, while the shelf 12 may be set to a horizontal posit-ion by properly adjusting the fitting 18, regardless of whether the shelf is used on the right hand side or the left hand side of the ladder.

A brace 28, which may be of any desired form or construction, is rigidly attached at one end to the lower end of the truck 11 by any suitable means, such as screws or bolts passed through apertures 29 in. the frame portion of the truck and engaging said brace. The upper end of said brace is seated in a notch 30 formed in the under face of the bar 20. The base of said notch is inclined, as shown at 31. at an angle equal to the angle of inclination assumed by the shelf, relative to the ladder, when ad justed to a horizontal position. A. screw or other suitable securing means passes through an aperture 32 in the bar 20 and into an aperture 88 formed in the upper end of the brace 28. The notch 30 is sufliciently wider than the upper end of the brace 28 to permit the bar 20 to assume an inclined position with the base 31 of the notch firmly in contact with the upper end of said brace, when the securing means passing through the aperture 32 is tightened. Then installing the shelf the bar 20 should be turned in such direction that the inclination of said bar, determined by the engagement of the base of said notch with the brace 28, shall be in the same direction as the direction of inclination of the fitting 18 relative to the truck 11. When changing the shelf to the opposite side of the ladder it is necessary to reverse the position of the bar 20 so as to have the base of the notch 31 oppositely inclined. The brace 28 forms a handle, by the grasping of which the shelf 12 may be raised or lowered.

The side member of the ladder upon which the truck 11 is mounted is furnished, as previously stated, with a series of ratchet detents 10. A ratchet 33 is pivotally mounted upon the brace 28 near its lower endby means of the pivotal connection 34:, which passes through lugs of the ratchet, said lugs in the preferred construction. of the device, engaging the opposite sides of the brace 28. The ratchet is in the form of a lever having at one end a handle 36 and at the opposite end a nose 37, which nose 37 projects a slight distance beyond the lower end of the brace 28 and in position to engage the ratchet detents 10. A sprin 38 between the handle end of the ratchet and the brace 28 normally holds the nose 37 in frictional contact with the side of the ladder and in position to engage with said detents, said nose being released from latching relation with said detents by pressing the handle 36 toward the side member 3 against the resistance of the spring 38. The handle 36 is positioned so as to be readily grasped by the hand when in the act of lowering or raising the adjustable shelf.

In the operation of my improved adjust able shelf, let it be assumed that it is desired to transfer articles from a case to shelving at a height beyond the reach of a person standing upon the floor. The person handling the goods, instead of carrying a few 28 and the handle 36 of the ratchet articles up the ladder in his arms, and trans- "ferring them to the'shelving, with the 1mminent risk of dropping some of them enroute, and then making repeated trips until the contents of the case are finally transferred to the'she'lving, he first, while standing upon the floor, places the case of goods upon the shelf which is in a conveniently low initial position, and grasping the brace 'h one hand, simultaneously releases the nose 3'? of the ratchet 38 from Whichever detent 10 it may be in engagement and elevates the shelf with the case of goods to as high a position as he can conveniently reach. At this point he releases his grasp upon the brace 28 and handle 36 of the ratchet and the nose 37 will automatically engage one of said detents. He then climbs the ladder high enough to enable him to reach the brace 28 from a more advantageous position, and he again grasps the brace 28 with one hand, at the same time holding on to the ladder with the other hand. In this manner the shelf may be elevated until it is opposite the point at which it is desired to transfer the articles from said case to the shelving. The goods may then be stored upon the shelving without the necessity that the one handling the goods shall descend the ladder. In the elevation of the shelf the wheels 16 prevent the upper portion of the truck 11 from binding against the side of the ladder under the slight tilting movement of the shelf occasioned by the upward push of the operator against the brace 28.

In order to adapt my invention for ready installation upon ladders now in use, I have provided a detachable rack bar 39 which is shown in Figures 6 and 7 and which is provided with a series of ratchet de-tents 40 having a function similar to the detents 10 formed in the side of the ladder shown in Figures 1 and 2. This detachable rack bar may be secured to the side 41 of any ladder, being preferably of greater width than said side. In this form of the invention the flanges 13 of the truck 11, instead of directly embracing the side 41 of the ladder, slidably engage the projecting edges of the rack bar 39 permitting the adjustable shelf to function relative to said bar in precisely the same manner that it does in the form of invention illustrated in Figures 1 to 5 inclusive. The rack bar 39 is adapted to be secured to either side of the ladder 4-1 so that the adjustable shelf may be applied, when using this attachment, to either the right or left hand side of the ladder in the same manner as when slidably mounted directly upon the side of the ladder.

In Figures 9 and 10 I have shown a stationary shelf which may be used in conjunction with my adjustable shelf or independently thereof. It comprises, essenable 45 from their position with tially, a platform a l attached in any suitmanner to brackets 45 which preferably consist of angu-larly bent metallic members surrounding a pair of adjacent'steps of the ladder, and being held in position by passing through a transverse plate 46 which abuts the rear edges of the side members of the ladder and to which the brackets 45 are clampably held by means of the nuts 47. It is obvious that, by removing the nuts 47 the plate 46 may be removed and the shelf 44 turned down so as to release the brackets respect to the adjacent steps of the ladder, after which said shelf may be entirely removed, if desired, or may be secured in fixed relation to any other two adjacent steps.

lVhile I have above described what I have found to be a very practical embodiment of my invention, it is nevertheless to be understood that the store shelf and ladder construction may also be embodied in numerous other alternative constructions, and I accordingly reserve the right of adopting all such legitimate changes as may be fairly embodied within the spirit and scope of the invention as claimed.

Having described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. In combination with a normally inclined ladder, a shelf support slidably mounted on said ladder, a shelf pivotally carried by said support, means for adjustably retaining said shelf in a horizontal position upon whichever side of the lad der said shelf is arranged, a handle to be grasped for elevating said shelf, a ratchet on said handle cooperating with means associated with said ladder for holding said shelf in various positions of elevation, said ratchet being formed with a portion to be grasped when the handle is grasped for releasing said ratchet in the act of elevating said shelf.

2. In combination with a normally inclined ladder, and adjustable shelf slidably mounted thereon, a handle to be grasped for elevating said shelf and a ratchet on said handle cooperating with means associated with said ladder for holding said shelf in various positions of elevation, said ratchet being formed with a portion positioned to be grasped when the handle is grasped for releasing said ratchet in the act of elevating said shelf.

3. In combination with a normally inclined ladder, a shelf support slidably mounted on said ladder, a shelf carried by said support, a brace secured to said shelf and support and affording a handle, to be grasped for elevating said shelf, a ratchet pivotally mounted upon said brace and normally engaged with means associated with said ladder for retaining said shelf in various positions of elevation, said ratchet having a portion thereof in position to be grasped when the handle is grasped in the act of elevating said shelf for simultaneously releasing said ratchet.

4:. An attachment for normally inclined ladders, comprising a rack bar adapted to be secured to a side member of a ladder on either side of the ladder, shelf support adapted to be slidably mounted upon said rack bar, a shelf pivotally carried by said support, means for adjustahly retaining said shelf in a horizontal position upon whichever side member of the ladder said shelf may be mounted, a handle associated with said shelf to be grasped for elevating said shelf, a ratchet associated with said handle and normally engaged with said rack bar for holding the shelf in various positions of elevation, said ratchet having a portion adapted to be grasped for releasing said ratchet from the rack bar when the handle is grasped to elevate or lower said shelf.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

BENJ. K. TRAYLOR. 

